13 WINDOWS

Chapter 6 Part 1: The BALCONY

JULY 11, 2012

Serena Rothstein was texting her best friend, Kelly, from the balcony of her apartment in Forest Hill. This newly built luxury condominium, near the bustling intersection of St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street, afforded her a spectacular view of downtown Toronto. It was the first real estate she had ever purchased, and she had waited for several years in anticipation as the tower was slowly built. Tonight was the first night she was going to sleep in her very own pad. The furniture had not yet arrived but was scheduled to be delivered in a few hours.

She took a cell-phone shot of herself with the skyline and the CN Tower in the background and then posted it onto her Twitter account. Then she sat down and took a drag of her cigarette. She took a sip of her cappuccino to wash away the taste of tobacco.

Her phone rang loudly playing the song Ring My Bell by Anita Ward. She picked it up.

"Hey Kell!" she said. "No, seriously, you have got to come up here and check out this balcony. I see a cocktail party with the gals in our future... No... Rupert hasn't been up here yet.... yeah he just texted an hour ago wondering if the curtains have been put up yet.... Ha! I know. ..I hear ya.... Well, he's gotten better about it lately... Sure I will."

Rupert buzzed the intercom from the lobby.

"Oh he's here. No there's no curtains yet. Not till tomorrow. He's gonna freak... Cool babe.... Ciao bella."

Serena stepped into the apartment and jogged over to the intercom. "Hello?"

"It's me," said Rupert. Serena buzzed the lobby door open.

Rupert said hello to the security guard and then traveled upward in the elevator. He avoided looking in the mirrors. They were just as bad as windows as far as he was concerned. He still didn't like seeing the scar on his left cheek after all these years. He breathed in deeply to overcome the anxiety of the elevator, just like Nina had always told him to. This was never the kind of place he would ever have chosen to live. 'Too many fucking windows!' he thought to himself. But Serena had purchased the place before they had decided to move in together. He was going to give it a try. For her.

He knocked on the door. When Serena opened it she reeked of cigarettes.

"Hey sweetheart," he said smiling. They kissed. "Have you been smoking?" Of course he knew the answer and it was silly for him to pretend otherwise.

"No...." she said trying to seem serious. "Well one. Half of a one," she said sheepishly, indicating with her fingers that it was just a tiny bit.

"Half of a one. Okay," Rupert said unconvinced. He looked at the empty apartment, the hardwood floor leading to the completely bare windows.

"Great! Ever heard of curtains?" he said sarcastically.

"Can't you just appreciate the view? Look at it. It's gorgeous. Clear blue skies. What's not to love? You can see everything!"

Rupert grumpily went into the kitchen where, thankfully, there were no windows. He grabbed a Heineken from the fridge. Serena started blasting Rihanna's Man Down from her boom box.

Rupert poked his head into the living room. "It's really nice Serena. It looks great. Everything you've done with it."

Serena just looked out the window and said coldly "I haven't done anything with it. My stuff arrives at four."

"And the curtains?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe not till tomorrow," she answered.

"Can we cover them up with something else?" Rupert said exasperated.